Superman+Mythology

Gerry de Ocampo (gdeocampo@gmail.com, Steve Corbett (lightningblast@live.com) || Put a graphic here ||
 * || =The Last Son of Krypton=

Overview
Here's where you'll convey the vision. Briefly describe the type of game or simulation, its contents and special features. Use this to hook the reader and to foreshadow the rest of the document. This section should be interesting and pithy.

You've read the comics, watched the movies, and seen the array of cartoons and tv shows. There was the black and white tv version, Lois & Clark, and the latest iteration of Smallville. Throughout all of these iterations, our beloved hero has risen to new heights, fallen prey to the dastardly schemes of his arch enemy Lex Luthor, but in all instances, his super-abilities given to him by Earth's yellow sun have helped him triumph over evil. But now a strange illness has befallen the Man of Steel. He no longer remembers who he is, his rich Kryptonian heritage or the destiny he has embraced as mankind's greatest protector. Superman has become a shell of the hero he once was. Retreating into his alter-ego identity as Clark Kent, Superman no longer flies through the air rescuing people and preventing crime. He has no idea he possesses superhuman strength or that he is basically invulnerable to everything. He doesn't remember who his friends or enemies are, and he does not remember that meteor rocks from his home planet of Krypton are lethal to him. It's your mission to help Clark Kent remember where he came from, regain his memories from adolescence and adulthood, and re-embrace his grand destiny as the Last Son of Krypton.

In this role play, adventure game, you will assume the identity of one of the characters in Smallville. You are one of the few people who know Clark's secret identity, and you need to help him remember who he is. In your quest to help Clark remember that he is Superman, you will travel the world from Smallville, Kansas to Beijing, China, and even to the North Pole in search of artifacts from Clark's life that link him to his extraterrestrial past. If you succeed in finding the blue crystal and giving it to Clark, he can rebuild the Fortress of Solitude and get his memory restored.

But you must hurry. Crime is rampant in the world. Without Superman on patrol, the world has declined. You must find the blue crystal before villains and criminals take over the world.

Instructional Objectives
Learners will be able to:
 * Describe the origins of Superman according to the Smallville version of the Superman mythology
 * State critical facts of the Superman's origin, adolescence, and young adulthood according to the Smallville version of the Superman mythology
 * Describe Superman's abilities and powers
 * State how Superman came to embrace his destiny as the protector of the world according to the Smallville version of the Superman mythology

Learners
The game's target audience is people ages 14-35. They are superhero comic fans, fans of Superman, or fans of the TV show Smallville. They can also be people of all ages who are interested in learning more about the Superman legend from the Smallville perspective.

Context of Use
This one-player role play adventure game is designed for the home setting since the topic does not fit nicely into a traditional academic curriculum. It can be played multiple times, as well as playing one game over a long period of time where the player pauses game play and resumes the adventure at a later time. A single game could take several hours to days as the player progresses through the adventure. The game is designed for play on Windows PC, Mac OS X, Playstation game console, and XBox game console.

Scope
How big will this game be? About how much time will it take to play? What content is specifically included? Excluded? For an adventure game, tell how many "rooms" and objects there will be. For a quiz game, how many questions and categories. For a branching story, how many screens and how many main branches.

Most of the scope is TBD, but for sure we plan to limit the scope of the game to the Smallville version of the Superman legend.

Object of the Game
The object of the game is to find the blue crystal and give it to Clark Kent so that he can use it to rebuild his Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole, which will allow him to regain his memory as Superman.

Competing Products
After an extensive web search, no competing products appear to exist. The only games associated with Smallville were [|Smallville Kryptonite Sweeper], [|Smallville Quiz], [|Smallville Trading Cards] and [|KryptonSite's Smallville Drinking Game]. The Sweeper game is very similar to the Mine Sweeper game commonly included with most Windows operating systems. The Quiz asked a few useful questions, but rewards you with instant ringtones regardless of how you do, so the web site is more of a scam than a game. The Trading Card game is not anything like the game being designed, and the Drinking Game definitely is not a competing e-game product, but certainly a fun concept. There may be competing products focused on Superman in general, but we did not include them in our search because our scope is limited to the Smallville version of the Superman mythology.

Design Details
This is the heart of the document. It will serve as a blueprint for those who actually develop the game. The more specific you can be here, the less backtracking and expensive confusion there will be later. //Universal Elements// Describe and provide illustrations of the overall look and feel of the game. What style of graphics and sounds will be used? Cartoonish? Photorealistic? Wacky? Business-like? Colorful? Muted? //Specific Elements// The specifics from this point on will vary depending on the format of game that you're using. For adventure games, provide: For branching stories, provide: For quiz games, provide: For arcade games, provide: For simulations, provide: //Technical Elements// Describe the:
 * an overall map of the simulated world, showing its boundaries and major features
 * a description of the role the learner is playing while moving through the world
 * a description of the overall game goal the learner is trying to achieve
 * a flowchart showing all possible rooms and allowable moves
 * a decription of the obstacles that will challenge the learner
 * a list of all prizes or artifacts and their locations
 * profiles of all non-player characters
 * a description of the scoring system, if any
 * a sequence of sample screens showing how one moves and acts on the game
 * a flowchart of all major branches in the game
 * a description of the events within each of the major branches including the entry decision that starts the branch
 * sample screens showing a sequence of the story
 * a character dictionary describing the appearance, background, motivation, and other characteristics of everyone who appears in the story
 * a description of the categorization scheme used for questions
 * sample questions within each category showing questions at each level of difficulty
 * sample screens showing the sequence of question asking, learner input, and feedback
 * sample screens showing introductory material, high score pages, etc.
 * a description of the scoring system to be used
 * a description of the categorization scheme used for sprites moving on the screen
 * sample images within each category showing sprites at each level of difficulty
 * sample screens showing the sequence of animation, learner input, and consequences
 * sample screens showing introductory material, high score pages, etc.
 * a description of all user-manipulable variables in the game
 * a description of all output variables displayed
 * a description of the initial or default state of all variables
 * sample screens showing a sequence of situation, learner input, and result
 * sample screens showing introductory material, high score pages, etc.
 * a description of the mathematical and logical relationships that link the input variables and output variables (i.e., the underlying model of the simulation).
 * specific software needed to author the game
 * platform(s) the game would be developed for
 * file formats of graphics and sounds
 * method to accommodate multiple platforms (if that's being done)
 * data structures for any files used to save the game state

Motivational Issues
Describe how the game engages the learner. How does it make use of curiosity, challenge, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation, etc.? (No one game will do all of these things, so focus on the particular strengths of this particular game.) Make specific reference to the theoretical readings associated with this course.

Design Process
Describe the process you went through in putting the game together. What were your first thoughts? How did you enhance your ideas? What ideas did you consider and reject (and why?). How did you gather background information? What did you do to see if there are similar games out there? What did you do to get feedback on the idea? How did you flesh out the game to the point of having a playable prototype? How did you gather feedback from that? What lessons did you learn from this that you'll carry to your next game design project?